YAOUNDE, Cameroon – Pope Benedict XVI set down strategy for his church in Africa on Wednesday, telling Cameroon's bishops to protect the traditional values of the African family and to spare the poor from the impact of globalization.

He also said that while the Catholic church in Africa is the fastest growing in the world, it faces competition from increasingly popular evangelical movements and "the growing influence of superstitious forms of religion."

The German-born pope, making his first African pilgrimage, also said that the exuberant local African rites should not "obstruct" the liturgy of the Mass.

Benedict began his second day with a meeting with Cameroon President Paul Biya at the presidential palace. Biya is one of Africa's longest-ruling strongmen, in power since 1982 and recently accused by the Amnesty International rights organization of seeking to crush political opposition.

No details of the meeting were immediately given.

The newspaper Le Jour carried a front-page interview with Cameroon Cardinal Christian Tumi asking Biya not to run again in 2011.

From the presidential palace, Benedict was driven to Christ the King Church to speak to Cameroon's 31 bishops and set down their mission.

"In the context of globalization with which we are all familiar, the church takes a particular interest in those who are most deprived," he said. "The bishop's mission leads him to be the defender of the rights of the poor."

He called it the duty of all Christians — particularly those with political and economic responsibilities — to contribute to the building of a "more just world where everyone can live with dignity."

He also worried about the impact of modernity and secularization on the traditional African family, telling the bishops to promote the understanding that marriage is indissoluble.

source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090318/ap_on_re_af/af_pope_africa

I sincerely hope our Nigerian churches take a cue from this and sincerely help the poor as christ directed instead of using the church's money( biblically meant for the poor) to buy private jets and pursue parochial interests.

abeg kunle tell them

They should help the poor whilst acquiring private jets and building high school universities

@chukwudi44
They won't listen to me even if i shout myself hoarse, but i expect they should at least read their bibles and faithfully follow and obey the teachings of jesus christ who they claim to believe and worship instead of their gods of men who are constantly deceiving them.

wettin be you point

With all due respect, I am rather dubious about this pope and his anti contraception preaching, I find it kinda racist.

AfroCynic:

With all due respect, I am rather dubious about this pope and his anti contraception preaching, I find it kinda racist.

Why is it racist? Choose another adjective to qualify the 'no-contraceptive preaching.'

He has preached the same in Ameerica and other majorly while countries.

agabaI23:

Why is it racist? Choose another adjective to qualify the 'no-contraceptive preaching.'

He has preached the same in Ameerica and other majorly while countries.

Perhaps you're right racist is a little strong but it is higly naive and destructive and in the end it'll be women of colour that suffer the most. I find that the church as well as preaching morality has to be realistic about the world we live in and I feel the anti contraception stance is not one that is conducive to the poor people in the most affected countries.

kunle,they wont hear

With all due respect, I am rather dubious about this pope and his anti contraception preaching, I find it kinda racist.

Whats racist about it?. Did you also find his wish to help the poor in Africa racist?. It's a shame that a white man is looking out for your people when your fellow kinsmen will rather buy a jet with church money than help out his kinsmen.

iReport:

Whats racist about it?. Did you also find his wish to help the poor in Africa racist?. It's a shame that a white man is looking out for your people when your fellow kinsmen will rather buy a jet with church money than help out his kinsmen.

Please see the post after the one you quoted.

Please see the post after the one you quoted.

It makes no meaning to me.

According to topic, Most (Many) churches are helping the poor in our society ever since. Even though they don't air it for people to see or hear. Is a sacrifice which many churches have been doing. They give clothes, food, money to the homes where you have the physically challenged. You don't expect church to go on street annoucing to people.

Church is the no. one for the surving of the physically challenged today in our society. So if Pope said "The Church Must Help The Poor ", He is just reminding the church to continue and never to give up.

@Marykelly
even though it is true some churches help the poor, they spend a relatively very small fraction of their resources on this noble venture which should be their main pre -occupation. Some churches (especially pentecostals) don't even have it in their agenda to help the poor, they actually expect even the poor to pay them tithes. the truth is that most churches have deviated from this noble commision of our lord Jesus christ and even when they do they are only paying lip service to it. They would rather spend the millions and billions they generate on carnal things.

KunleOshob:

@Marykelly
even though it is true some churches help the poor, they spend a relatively very small fraction of their resources on this noble venture which should be their main pre -occupation. Some churches (especially pentecostals) don't even have it in their agenda to help the poor, they actually expect even the poor to pay them tithes. the truth is that most churches have deviated from this noble commision of our lord Jesus christ and even when they do they are only paying lip service to it. They would rather spend the millions and billions they generate on carnal things.

paying tithes is not for any individual
every tithes payer should have their value reason for paying it

@origina9ja

The question u should be asking is should christian pay tithes?